business (1,000 employees) in the fast-moving consumer goods
sector of industry. He had come up the hard way and his experi-
ence had always been in similar firms. Business was highly
competitive and the pressures on maintaining, never mind
increasing, market share were considerable. Tough decisions
about products, markets and people had to be made often and
quickly. There was a non-executive chairman and three outside
non-executive directors on the board, but they let Robinson get
on with it as long as he delivered the results they wanted – which
he did.
Robinson was a despot, although a benevolent one. He knew
much more about the business as a whole than any of the other
four executive directors, and the chairman and the key institu-
tions (who were represented by the non-executive directors on
the board) relied implicitly on his judgement.
Robinson’s management style was rumbustious. He did not
suffer fools gladly and he cracked down on any repeated ineffi-
ciencies or mistakes. He made the key decisions himself. At
meetings of the executive directors he would sometimes say that
he wanted the views of those present but stated quite clearly that
he had already made up his mind and would need a lot of
convincing to change it.
But his deep understanding of the business and his ability to
think faster on his feet than anyone else meant that while his
autocratic behaviour was sometimes resented at the time, those
subjected to it would say on almost every occasion ‘you’ve got to
give it to the old so-and-so – he knows his stuff and he’s right’.
He led, they followed. This was simply because they knew he
could accomplish whatever was required in the volatile environ-
ment in which they worked.
128 How to be an Even Better Manager